AMD Damns SYSmark 2012, Searches For New Benchmark

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Citing unfair and opaque testing methods that are not based on real-world computing models and software applications, AMD has resigned from the Business Applications Performance Corporation (BAPCo) and withdrawn its support for BAPCo’s SYSmark 2012 benchmark suite.

It all began a year ago, when Nigel Dessau, AMD’s Chief Marketing Officer, wrote a damning blog post about SYSmark’s poor and inacurate handling of heterogeneous computing. BAPCo promptly threatened to expel AMD, but didn’t follow through — and here we are, a year later, and AMD is leaving of its own accord. The exact reasons aren’t given, but it seems to mostly hinge on AMD’s shift towards APUs — combined CPUs and GPUs — and SYSmark’s inability to accurately measure their performance. SYSmark, in other words, is unfairly biased towards Intel’s raw processing power — and AMD can’t endorse a benchmark that ignores or downplays the strengths of its APUs. SYSmark’s bias is so strong, says Dessau, that it has caused governments to overspend around $8 billion on Intel chips.

The good news, though, is that AMD now wants to support an open and fair suite of processor benchmarks. AMD wants a benchmark that actually utilizes the A-Series’ on-chip GPU — and more importantly, AMD wants a benchmark that will show off its incoming GPGPU-like Fusion System Architecture. Rather nobly, AMD isn’t interested in making its own benchmark suite — instead, it wants to back the creation of a new industry consortium that will be tasked with creating an open benchmark to measure overall system performance.

Get rid of those Intel-sponsored benchmarking tests. Anyone got ideas on how to test ease and speed of real-world use?

Anonymous

Don’t blame your inability to run a computer on a company that has been perfecting its techniques for the past 40 years. Look into the other issues kemosabe, you’ll find it’s you that’s the problem and your AMD will end in the same position as your Intel.

As for the benchmarks, yeah they need some new ones. APU’s operate much different than Intel systems. With that much GPU power on die you will definately notice a huge performance increase in gaming speeds. Sorry but datacenters have no use of APU’s though. They don’t use a lick of GPU processing power. Wait for Bulldozer to come out…now that will be interesting.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HSHTSXRLRVGFKXH5CGIFIR3DAU Fast Turtle

Data Centers Have no use for APU’s? Really? How about crypto accelleration? SSL/HTTPS/TLS and other forms? All of them can quickly benefit from an APU.

Why in heck do you think GPGPU’s are so useful in cracking crypto? Because they handle the number crunching much faster then a CPU can and that’s what Crypto’s all about and no, this wont displace dedicated crypto cards, it’ll simply force them to charge even more for the same performance.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7WPQOPNWQZYXXUQM65LJA6TAOI vikp

I don’t think he’s running a datacenter. He’s complaining that his more expensive Intel laptop is more sluggish in real world tasks than his cheaper laptop, despite benchmarks that boast the opposite.

For average consumers, the increasing amount of media oriented lifestyle focused on Flash, movies, interactive websites, etc does leverage GPU functionality somewhat. Intel’s gpu tech has only recently become acceptable in this regard.

My intel netbook can’t even watch youtube properly, but I don’t complain about it much since I got it for free. But you can bet I’ll buy a Brazos based netbook rather than atom next time around.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7WPQOPNWQZYXXUQM65LJA6TAOI vikp

Not without actually playing around with the computer before buying. If you want to judge based on specs, you’ll need to be well read on how each piece of hardware performs, especially the hardware components that will be most stressed based on your unique usage.

I’d be willing to bet that your complaint on your Intel laptop is probably traced to a weak Intel integrated GPU, but I’d have to hear more details on what you mean by “stinks” in real world use to be sure.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_HSHTSXRLRVGFKXH5CGIFIR3DAU Fast Turtle

I’m already seeing lots of ancedotal evidence that the new Llano (CPU/APU) Fusion design is besting Intel in notebooks quite handily. A telling quote “Although the CPU is a meager 1.6GHz, my new HP notebook with Llano readily does what I need while getting great battery life.”

Based on the accumulating ancedotal evidence, my next system will most likely have an AMD Fusion chip in it instead of an intel.

http://profiles.google.com/khimera2000 Jonathan Freeman

If AMD doing this brings out a benchmark that showes the power that the system has right now, and its potential power in the near future (with developer support) I would be a happy camper. truth is that intel has always had a lopsided approach to the market, who can blame them though? they worked at what there good at. AMD on the other hand is pushing the edge, just like when it released there 64 bit architecture (which intel asked microsoft not to support).

Intel is great at processers, but beyond that there pritty lack luster. There SSDs have to compete in the bargain realm (or has that changed??) No one in there right mind would buy and intel made mother board, and there video card is only just touching on nvidia, and AMD’s old budget offerings, speaking of whitch intel also shelved there first discreet video card because it was not able to compete.

The fact is computers are changing, we already see this kind of intergration in our smart phones, and when you look at the abilities of both companies including there track records its safe to say that intel has alot ot worry about. AMD has caught up to intel in the past, even while intel was doing monopolistic practices they still managed to push out great desings, however Intel has shown nothing in its ability to manufacture top performing products out side of its core buisness of CPUs unless someone knows about a product that i dont know of.

If companies begin to move more and more to the GPU then intel will not be able to compete against these monsters. with a couple of more die shrinks on AMD’s side you can bet that the performance will only go up be it raw power, or simplly battery efficiancy.

and thats the weakness. Intel machines are no longer considered efficiant all in one packages for the masses. People are understanding how to stream and watch movies, wanting to play more 3d games, and do more graphicly intensive tasks. with one release AMD has taken away any hope of intel holding the battery life crown when compared agains the new chips, and thats what I hope these new benchmarks will show.

I hope they show how powerfull the intel CPUs are, and how much of that power is useless without a descent video card, I also hope they show the cost of adding in one of those cards in an AMD set up VS an Intel set up (mainly in the amount of battery life sucked up), I hope it highlights how much math these GPUS can crunch, and how much faster applications can run that use them.

In this light Intel will have only one advertising scheme, and thats about there speedy processers, where AMD can advertise cheap long lasting notebooks, that will always beat intel when you compare battery life to performance. Meaning intel chips still uses two seperate peaces of cilicon to make there chip one for GPU one for CPU, AMD has moved to a single peace of cilicon for theres, AMD has the performance edge untouchable by intel for video, and intel dosent have anything that would be a good contender against this new stratagy. They can add all the custom logic they want, but AMD, Nvidia, and possibly smartphone makers will be pushing developers to use the GPU for more speed, and theres nothing intel can do to stop them, or compete with them if this happens.

Anonymous

More power to AMD. Lower price but better performance. I’m a gamer so I like AMD..

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